LookinUp

Tough crowd.

I don’t. It gives a bigger advantage to teams with more money. We have a chance if we can get in the playoffs.

Either that, or he’s a Verlander to Houston like reclamation project. That’d be nice.

Could be a leadership type of signing. Expose this guy to our young guys.

Really? I think Elias is just looking for live arms that he can mold with his super data. They don't have to be good yet. They have to display some kind of legit attributes around which Elias thinks he can create a better pitcher. The bar is pretty low for these guys IMO. They don't have to be good. They have to have a chance to be good.

I like that he has athletic potential. We're betting on the Angels sucking at player development. If so, there's a shot. If not, he's a depreciating asset. Hopefully we can unlock the skillset.

I believe Tony said that he would be between Baumler/Mayo and Wells. If so, he'd be #17.

This is great. As is the pitching stuff, and the international efforts, and the use of data to identify draft prospects. Still not sure why I'd have Elias on any kind of timetable based on how much he spends. He's building a better foundation for this org than anyone I've ever seen.

What's the explanation for Bundy? Seems like if the two organizations have a special relationship, it might not be just these guys.

Would Brad Miller or Marwin Gonzalez be that bad? Too expensive? Better than Franco at least, right? (I've not done homework here, so be gentle.)

I like expanded playoffs.

This deal makes me nervous in the context of this offseason. I hope we're not throwing in any prospects just to make it happen. That's the worst case scenario, but one I fear. As far as return? I'm hoping for a nice shiny bucket of balls. It would floor me if we ate a significant portion of his contract and get actual decent prospects back. In fact, I'll almost certainly gauge the return on the $ we had to throw in to make the deal happen.

Been following Law for years. Most teams fans think he hates their team. He clearly voices his opinions with an edge that angers fans.

We didn't have the data at the time, but the narrative around Ripken was that he positioned himself so well that he was able to get to more balls. I have no idea what the modern stats would say about his range, but he did get a lot of volume by what I remember.

I love the Bennett comp. I think he's a legit great coach. I think Elias can be that as a GM. Top 5 in the sport. I just hope he's allowed to do it.

In the off chance that they ever have a short term need that we can fill, yes! They really can do whatever they want. It's really the argument some here make for trading everyone when they get value. Do that 2-3 more years and suddenly we're stacked [kind of] like Tampa and set up for a decade. Try to be more aggressive with buying/selling and we could even accelerate that. I just don't think Elias is allowed to play that latter game.

Maybe I'm not following the conversation closely enough, but that's the only reason he was the most expensive player. Others were on much more expensive contracts, but didn't get paid for 162. Or maybe that's your point, but I didn't see that.

Because he was released before games were cancelled, so they had to pay 100%.

I'm not sure I'd want the O's to make some of those trades. They're indicative of a team that is unwilling to spend, like ever. That's part of the reason their system is so deep. I mean Blake Snell was their best pitcher a couple of months ago and they just traded him. I actually think that was smart from both a baseball and financial perspective, but it's still got to be a tough pill to swallow in that org.

It may have been a recent article in the Athletic talking about shortstops. The upshot of that article is that SS is insanely deep already in the majors and even more so in the minors. Tampa has a glut of legit SS prospects, IIRC, but they exist throughout the sport. I'm not sure if that's a relic of how everyone is calling all of their youngest guys SS's, likely meaning they're just not moving off of the position as fast. Either way, it shows that franchises are going with athleticism, IMO. The O's have a similar approach.

I've read that Tampa has the strongest system people have ever seen. I do forget who wrote that, but he's been in baseball for decades. Not sure if that would hold under scrutiny, but even if it doesn't, if you're even mentioned as the best system ever you must be stacked.

I'm drawing conclusions based on what I'm seeing and reading. You're waiting for the dinner to be served. That's fair. I think he's doing a very good job getting young talent through the international and rule iv draft. If it all goes Philadelphia on us, you'll be right. I just don't see that happening.

Just to add... At some point there will be an inflection point, or there won't. SG and others want it now. Understood. I'd argue that even with some spending now we're still 1-2 years away, so I understand (in theory) waiting for the strategy to change. Either way, at some point it must change (e.g., spending money to upgrade spots). On that we all agree. When that happens, I'll believe that Elias has some desire to stay here, but even then it will depend on the degree to which the change happens. I see him as a star in the industry. That means he'll be in high demand elsewhere when he's available. He'll take that unless ownership commits to him and the team financially.

Why would he leave? Because he's capable like Andrew Friedman and just isn't given the tools to build the house. He's like a carpenter without a nail gun or power saws. If I were him, I'd be building this foundation as strong as possible, just like he apparently is, and then point to that when talking to rich owners and say I can do the same + with real ownership support. His next contract could be huge for GMs. I know I'm being way premature here, but I can totally see this scenario playing out for the O's.

I tend to agree with this. There are a few scenarios that could play out for Elias and Sig. 1. O's remain owned by Angelos, penny pinching is the way of the future - he builds a nice foundation here but leaves when free to and another owner essentially asks him to do the same but also gives him resources. Thinking Philly/San Fran make sense from a market/spending perspective. 2. O's remain owned by Angelos, short term penny pinching linked to Covid - this would allow Elias to stay and be somewhat more financially aggressive likely starting in 2021/2022. It still leaves him in a less than perfect (e.g., not Red Sox/Dodgers) scenario. I could see him deciding to go to a bigger market team when he has that option. 3. O's are sold - everything's on the table at that point. New owner might embrace him and ask him to spend. New owner might want his own guy. Who knows? I really think Elias will be in demand when he's available. I hope whoever owns the O's don't let it get there, but I'd wager they do.